A tiny office supply item became the unexpected hero that saved a woman’s life savings from vanishing.
The incident happened in Hefei, China, when a woman named Ms. Wang received a call from someone claiming to be customer service from a short video platform. They told her she was being charged 800 yuan per month for a membership and guided her on how to “cancel” it.
1. The high-tech scam process
The scammer tricked the victim into a series of dangerous steps:
Download a suspicious app: A remote access app was installed on her phone.
Extract information: She was asked to enter her bank card number, password, and complete facial recognition.
Take control: Suddenly, Ms. Wang’s phone screen went pitch black, showing only the message “System connecting, please do not touch the screen”. In reality, the scammer locked her phone’s controls and quietly transferred 200,000 yuan (about 700 million VND) from her savings to a payment account ready to be emptied.
2. The police’s paperclip move
When police arrived at Ms. Wang’s home, the phone was completely frozen. In a tense moment, an officer had a bright idea: use a paperclip to eject the SIM card immediately.
Removing the SIM card and cutting off the Wi-Fi connection completely severed the scammer’s remote control link. Thanks to this quick action, the entire 200,000 yuan remained safe in her account.
3. Warning: What to do if your phone starts acting on its own?
Police advise you to watch out for these signs:
The screen jumps on its own, apps open by themselves, or the display goes black or flickers.
Notification bar shows “Screen Sharing” or “Screen Recording” icons.
Physical and touch buttons become unresponsive.
Emergency steps: Don’t try to restart your phone through software. Immediately remove the SIM card and turn off your home Wi-Fi. Then use another device to freeze your bank card and change all passwords.
Source: Gamersky
